JAMES Freeman didn’t have the luxury of a honeymoon period in professional boxing. The former Armagh GAA star – who’d never had an amateur fight or been a member of a boxing club - made his pro debut in May last year with a broken hand and quickly learned that you get nothing given to you in the ‘noble art’.
The Ryan Burnett-trained Armagh city middleweight got through a baptism of fire but he broke the same bone a couple of rounds into his second fight and then suffered the same injury for a third time in sparring.
He had to give the injury time to heal and after being out of action for a year, he accepted the offer of a third fight while on his honeymoon in June.
“I was back sparring a few weeks before I got married so I knew I was able to fight,” he explained.
“When I was on my honeymoon I couldn’t fully switch off because I wanted to get active again – I started my camp for the fight halfway through the honeymoon!”
Freeman had to miss his brother’s stag party to appear in Newcastle at the weekend but his dedication paid off with the best performance of his career so far.
“I won every round, and every minute of every round, on Saturday night so I’m ready to get active again,” he said.
“You get nothing for free in boxing but I’m working with Ryan Burnett now and I’m learning every day with him and the future is looking bright. I’m hoping to get another two fights in before the end of the year.”
Freeman and fellow county Armagh native Lee Gormley both scored shut-out points wins in Newcastle.
The pair both recorded their third wins as professionals in four-rounders against Naeem Ali and Jake Osgood respectively. Gormley (now 3-1) took his fight at a week’s notice and was delighted to get a win as he also looks to kick on with his fledgling pro career.
PODY McCrory is expected to be the headline act in Belfast against Dubliner Luke Keeler on November 1. McCrory hasn’t fought since his stoppage loss against Puerto Rico’s Edgar Berlanga in Orlando in February and the popular ‘Hammer’ will intend to return to winning ways against Keeler who had five wins in-a-row in Belfast before he lost a world title challenge against Demetrius Andrade in 2020.
Meanwhile, Michael Conlan is expected to return to the ring on St Patrick’s weekend next year after confirming England’s Grant Smith as his new coach.
Conlan, who came within a whisker of winning the world title but lost to Leigh Wood after a dramatic last round knockout in Nottingham, suffered back-to-back stoppage defeats last year.
First he lost an IBF title challenge against hammer-handed Luis Alberto Lopez. That defeat saw him part company with coach Adam Booth and Conlan switched to USA-based Cuban Pedro Diaz. But their link-up lasted just one fight as the unheralded Jordan Gill stopped an out-of-sorts Conlan in Belfast in December.
There was speculation that Conlan could hang up his gloves but after a period of reflection he decided to go again and, at 32, he still has time on his side particularly when the achievements of Anthony Cacace (35) are taken into account – Cacace added the IBF super-featherweight title to his IBO belt earlier this year.
At the same time, he won’t necessarily want to hang about and Conlan has recruited Sheffield-based coach Smith as his coach and he will begin working with the Steel City Gym guru, who has a reputation for being a hard taskmaster, in the build-up to his comeback fight.
Smith enjoys working with skilful boxers so Conlan certainly fits that bill and he will join a busy gym that includes his new coach’s son Dalton as well as Sunny Edwards and Chantelle Cameron.
“I just like how Grant operates and how he is as a coach, and I like how the other guys operate as well,” said Conlan.
“I decided to go to Grant, because of the quality fighters that he has around him. That is why I have chosen Grant, because he has so many high-quality fighters there who you can bounce off of and push yourself against in the gym and try to excel.
“That was a part of the reason, I liked the trainer and the quality of fighters that I will be around, now I can see how they are operating and which way they are doing things.”
FEARGAL McCrory lived up his ‘Fearless’ fighting name when he went into the lion’s den against WBA super-featherweight champion Lamont Roach back in June.
McCrory took on Roach in his Washington backyard but he found the impressive champion a tough nut to crack and was stopped in the eighth round. The loss has only made the Tyrone native more determined and, with names like Oscar Valdez and Dublin’s Jono Carroll now in the mix, he’s eager to get back in the ring.
Boxing will have to take a back step for the foreseeable as McCrory and his wife are expecting the arrival of their third child. After that, it’ll be all systems go, says the determined super-feather.
“I’d like to fight before Christmas,” said McCrory who fought five times in 16 months up to the Roach loss.
“But at the minute it all depends on how my wife and the baby are. When it all settles down I can go and start a camp again but I’m training away at home and I’m staying in shape.
“It’ll be another big one next – not a world title shot, but with a big name.”
McCrory has fought exclusively in the USA since he returned to boxing after a three-year break in 2022. He’ll be in the States in a few weeks and intends to discuss future opponents with his handlers out there.
Losing to Roach was a setback for him but he is determined to take the final step and capture the world title he has set his sights on.
“There was a lot of positives from the Roach fight,” he side.
“But, to call a spade a spade, ultimately the biggest achievement of my life so far is a loss which I’m not happy about. I went there to win a fight and I sacrificed and dedicated myself to my training and to the gameplan but I came up short.
“I’m gutted about that, absolutely gutted and I’m still gutted. The only way to rectify that is to go on and climb that mountain, finish the job and become a world champion. You have to learn from it, and I will, and I have learned from it and I want to come back and go further because I don’t want to be remembered as somebody who fought for a world title, I want to win a world title, I want to make that step.
“That’s why we’re looking big fights, hard fights and we’re looking the hard challenges. It’s hard to get over getting beat, especially with it being my first loss. It takes you so long to get to that level and then you get there and you fall short…
“Fighting for a world title was something I always dreamed of and I genuinely believed that I could win and would win. It didn’t work out on the night but we’ll correct a few things and hopefully I’ll be able to cross the line the next time I get the opportunity.”
